Automatic gate and alarm for railway-crossings



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. KUSTER, Jr.

' AUTOMATIC GATE AND ALARM FOR RAILWAY GROSSINGS. N0.-802,004 PatentedJuly 15, 1884.

ll TI TI U U W- T WITNESSES INVBNTOR ATTORNEY N. PETERS.Phoio-Lifllagnphen Wnhington. n. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. KUSTBR, Jrfl AUTOMATIC GATE AND ALARM F0 No. 302,004.

WAY ouo ssmes.

d July 15, 1884.

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Nl'TE STATES JOHN IQUSTER, JR, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC GATE AND ALARM F'O'R RAILWAY-CROSSINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 302,004, dated July 15,1884.

Application filed January 11, 1883. I (No model.) v I To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KUSTER, Jr., of Stamford, county of Fairfield,State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in anAutomatic Gate or Gates and Alarm for Railvvay-Crossings; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings,forming part of this specification.

This invention is in the nature of an improvement in an automatic gateor gates and alarm for railway-crossings; and theinvention consists in aseries of turning shafts with levers or cranks fixed thereto orconnected therewith, in combination with connecting chains or rods, andvertically-adj ustable gates and alarm-bells wherebythe gates areelevated and depressed automatically and the alarm sounded by the wheelsof a passing train.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure 1 is a plan or top view ofmy invention. Fig.2 isalongitudinal vertical section taken on the line 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section of detail taken in the line 00 m, Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a section of detail taken in the line 3/ y, Fig. 1. Fig.5 is alongitudinal section on the line 4 4, Fig. 1, showing the gates in theiropen position. Fig. 6 is a cross-section on the line 5 5, Fig. 2. Fig. 7is a longitudinal section of the bell-box.

Similar letters. of. reference indicate like parts in the severalfigures. A

The danger attending the crossing of railway-tracks by common roads isso well known that it is simply necessary to mention the fact withoutfurther comment. To stop passing vehicles at such crossings, manydevices have been contrived, some'of which are in practice on numerousrailroads.

To construct stop-gates for the road-crossings of railways, and alsoalarm-bells to give warning of approaching trains, so that theiroperation shall be not only automatic but certain and'positive, I make atransverse excavation, A, of convenient dimensions and form, in theroad-bed a, of the railway, under the tracks b. This excavation ispreferably constructed in line with or in continuation of the I commonroad which crosses the track. It may,

however, be located elsewhere under the track. 7

Into this excavation are secured to suitable foundations of timber, (notshown,) or otherwise, a series of collars or bearings, c, which supportshafts Band 0. These shafts extend under the tracks of the roadway.longitudinally of the excavation A. end of these shafts B and C aresecurely fixed and at right angles to the same levers d, and to theupper ends of each of these levers are attached by pivots gates D.Thesegates consist of an upper rail, e, 'and a lower rail, f, the tworails being connected by a series of bars, g, which are pivoted at theirends to the upper and lower rails of the gate; also, to the shafts B andO are fixed bell cranks or levers h and k, in line with the shafts B andC, and between the inner ends of the same; also, sup- To each outer 7ported in suitable bearings, land on, is a shaft,

E, with levers n and 0 fixed to its ends, and

.a bell-crank lever, 19, secured to it midway from its ends; also,supported in suitable bearings, r and s, is a shaft, F, with cranks tand u fixed to its ends, and a lever, 1;, between the same; also,supported in suitable bearings, 10 and 1,is a shaft, G, with abell-crank lever, or; also, in the excavation A, adjacent to andparallel with the shaft E, and supported in suitable bearings, aretheshafts YYflto which are fitted right-angle cranks Y and Y, with anintermediate bell-crank lever, Z, between them. In't'he road-bed, andbelow the tracks on either side. of the excavation A, and parallel withthe tracks, are also formed excavations H and K. Into the excavation H,and supported in suitable bearings, is fitted a turning shaft, L, with alever or crank, b, at one end, and a lever or crank, c, at right anglesto the first-named lever at the-other; and,also,

in the excavation H, suitably pivoted therein, is a tripping-lever, oneof the arms, N, of which extendsupward and close to the outer edge ofone of the rails of the track b,and the other crank, d, which is bentnearly at right angles to the lever N, extends under the crank c of theshaft -L; also, in the excavation H, and pivoted therein, is atripping-lever, with one of its arms, P, at one end of a shaft, R, ex-

tending up to and close beside one of the rails of. say, the down trackof the road, and its other arm, 0, at the other end of said shaft R,connected with the chain 2, and within the excavation K is placed, inlike manner to the above-described tripping-levers, a tripping-1ever,with one of its arms, T, at one end of the shaft U, extendingupward and close to the outer side of the rail of, say, the up track ofthe road, and with another arm, h, at the other end of said shaftattached to the chain 3; and within the excavation K is also placedanother turning shaft, V, with levers m and a fixed to its ends and atright angles to each other; and suitably pivoted in the excavation K isa trip1i ing-lever,one of the arms X of which extends upward and closeto the side of the rails of, say, the down track of the road, and itsother arm, 1), extends beneath the lever n of the shaft V.

At the sides of the track, and extending across the road-crossing, arein suitable vertical guides placed the gatesD, before mentioned. Fixedto the lever p at one of its ends, and to the lever 12 by its other end,is a connecting chain or rod, 1, and fixed to the lever v of the shaft Fat one of its ends, and to the arm 0 of the shaft R at its other end, isthe connecting chain or red 2, and fixed to the bell-crank lever Z atone of its ends, and at its other end to the arm h of the shaft U, is aconnecting chain or rod, 3. Fixed to one of the arms of the bellerank aand the lever m of the shaftVis a connecting chain or rod, 4; also, inthe excavation A are suitably pivoted levers A and B. The inner ends ofthese levers are bent, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,with a plate, a'flfixedto one of the bent ends of one of the levers, which plate bridges thespace between these bent ends of each of said levers. The outer ends ofthe levers A and B, and also in the excavation A, have secured to themcoil-springs a and I); also, to the outer ends of the levers A and B areconnected wires 0, (see Fig. 5,) the other ends of the wires beingattached to levers c, which are pivoted in or below the bell-boxes C andD, placed at each side of the track. To the upper end of these levers care fixed hammers to operate alarm-bells E In the excavations H and K,and supported in suitable bearings, so as to freely turn therein, areshafts G and H. These shafts have attached to them right-angle cranks gh and it I, respectively; also, in the excavations H and K are pivoted,one in each excavation, trippinglevers K and L. These tripping-leversextend upward and close to the rails of the up and down tracks,respectively, of the road, thelowor ends ofthe levers being bent atright angles, forming levers m and a, which last-named levers pass underthelevers h and Z of the shafts G and H. From the crank of the shaft Gto the bent end of the lever A, and secured to them, is a rod or chain,0, and to the crank k of the shaft H is fixed one end of arod or chain,1), which rod or chain extends to a tripping bellcrank, M, to whichlast-named crank it is likewise secured, it being understood that all ofthe several shafts, cranks, levers, and connectingrods are below theroad-bed of the railway, with the exception of the tripping-levers N, P,T, X, K, and L, which extend upward, as before described.

Now, when my automatic alarm and stopgates and their several connectingparts are constructed substantially as hereinbefore rccited, they areoperated as follows: The wheels of a train passing along the up track ofaroad, for instance, are brought in contact with the upper end of thetripping-lever K, causing the lower end of the lever to turn on itspivot, thereby elevating the lever a, throwing upward the crank lflofthe shaft G, causing that shaft to turn and throw backward its crank g",thereby drawing the chain or rod 0, which in turn draws the inner bentend of the lever A, forcing the plate a to actuate the bent end of thelever B, compelling these lovers to turn on their pivots,respectively,and draw the bellwires 0", attached to their outer ends, until thesewires have imparted motion to the bellcranks c, causing them to strikewith their hammers the bells E in bell-boxes G and l), the levers A andB being restored to their normal state by the elastic action of thesprings a and b, and the alarm-bells are similarly sounded by the wheelsof a train passing along the down track when they come in contact withthe trippingdever L, which, through the shaft H and its cranks It and l"and its connecting chain or rod 1)", causing the alarm-bells to soundthrough the action of the bell-leversA and B in precisely the samemanner referred to when describing the operation of the trippinglever K,excepting that, instead of the rod being connected directly with thelever A, it actuates that lever and the lever B through or by thetripping-lever M. Now, since these tripping-levers K and L are placed atsome distance from the road-crossing it is desired to alarm, due noticeis givenvat that point that a train is approaching on either the up ordown track. Shortly after in this way giving the alarm the wheels of thepassing train are brought in contact with the tripping arm or lever N,causing this lever or arm to turn' on its pivot, thereby throwing upwardthe lever d at its lower end, and also the crank c on the shaft L, andthrowing backward the crank b on that shaft until the connecting chainor rod 1 is tightly drawn, which operation pulls over the bell-cranklever 12 on the shaft E, causing thereby the shafts B and C (see Fig. 6)to turn in their respective bearings through the action of the cranks orlevers n and 0, fixed on the ends of shaft E, and the bell-cranks h andon the ends of the shafts B and C, so that as these shafts turn thelever d throws upward the gates D, and by that operation causing them toassume a vertical position, that bar the road-crossing from the track,and in this way prevent accident.

As the gates D move upward in the manner just described, the severaljointed bars, of the gates D turn vertically, causing the upper bars, 0,of the gates to be atsuflicient height above thetrack to bar thecrossing, and as the gates in this way are elevated, they so remainuntil thetrain proceeds on its course, bringing its wheels in contactwith the tripping-lever T, which lever is forced over on its pivot, thearm h thrown backward, bringing thereby tension on the chain or rod 3,it bringing over the upper arm of the bell-crank Z, causing this crankto turn in its bearings until the cranks Y Y, fixed on either side ofthe same, are brought in contact with the lower arm of the bell-cranklevers h and 7a, which last-named cranks turn the shafts. B and O in areverse direction, causing the levers d at their ends to draw downwardthe lower rails, f, of thegates D, the pivoted bars 9 in turn bringingdown the upper rails, e, of these gates until the several partsconstituting the gates are below the surface of the roadcrossing, and nolonger offer opposition to its being passed, and so on the down track.Af- I ter the wheels of the train havepassed the tripping-lever L andsounded the bell, as before stated, they are brought in contact with thetripping-lever X, causing it to turn, and its lower part or lever, 19,to throw upward the crank a of the shaft V, thereby throwing backwardthe crank m and bringing tension upon the chain 4, which throws thebell-crank lever to until it engages with the lower arm,

h, of the bell-crank. lever 10, thereby, through theshaft E, causing theshafts B and O to turn in their bearings and throw upward the gates D,in the manner before described, in which position they remain until thewheels of the train are brought in contact with the trippinglever P,when thatlever is-forced over, turning 011 its pivot, and by means ofits arm or lever 6 drawing the chain or rod 2, causing there'- by theshaft F (see Fig. 1) to turn until its cranks i and u are brought incontact with the bell-crank levers hand 70, and the shafts B and G areturned in areverse direction, again bringing downward the elevatedgates, in the manner described in the previous operation; Now, as thesestop-gates D are elevated, one end of the upper rail, 6, of the gatesenters into mortisesr and r in the bell-boXes O and D, and the oppositeends of these upper bars pass into slots t in the upright boxes M and N(see Fig. 1,) preserving the gates from contact with any objectattempting to pass them The excavations A, H, and K may be covered withremovable covers of any desired description, to prevent their receivingdeposits of snow or dirt, which would tend to interfere with theoperation of the several parts described; and the upper rails, e, of thegates D, when within their guides, or when the gate is in its closedposition, effectually keep like deposits from the passage-way or guidesof the gates.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-* 1. Mechanism for automatically operatinggates for railway-crossings, consisting of the shaft E, having thelevers'a and 0, the chain or rod 1, connected with said -shaft E,andwith the shaft L, which is operated by the tripping-lever N, theshafts B and 0, provided with thecrank-levers h and 70, respectively, tobe operated by the levers 0t and 0 to move a gate to close the crossing,combined with the shafts Y and Y having the levers Y and Y,

also to operate the bell-crank levers h and k, the intermediatebell-crank lever,,Z, of the said levers Y and Y, the shaft U, and rod orchain 3, connecting levers Z and shaft U, and the tripping-lever T, foroperating the same to move the gates to open the crossing, all substantially as shown and described.

2. Mechanism-for automatically operating gates for railway-crossings,consisting of the shaft E, having levers n and o, the chain or rod 1,connected with said shaft E, and with the shaft L, which is operated bythe tripping-lever N, theshafts B and 0, provided with crank-levers hand 70, respectively, to be operated by the levers n and o to movethegates to close the crossing, the shafts Y and Y having the intermediatecrank-lever, Z, and the levers Y and Y, which latter operate thebell-cra-nk levers h and 7c, the rod or chain 3, connecting the lever Zand shaft U, and the tripping lever T, for operating the same to movethe gates to open the crossing,

combined with the shaft G, bell-crank lever thereon, and chain or rod 4,connected there with, and with the shaft V, and the tripping mechanism,as described, for operating the shaft V,'tlie shaft F,hav.ing levers tand u, and the shaft R and the rod or chain 2, extending between saidshafts F and R, and the tripping mechanism for operating said shaft B,all substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

3. An alarm mechanism for railroad-crossings, consisting of the levers Aand B,shafts G and H, the wires or rods 0 and 19*, connecting thesame,the tripping-levers K and L, for operating the shafts G and H, re-

spectively, to move the levers A and 13, to

sound an alarm at the outer ends of said 'levers, and the springs a andN, for retaining the levers in position to be operated, combined withfiand operating independently of V I r the gate-operating mechanism,substantially I 1, 2, 3, and 4,, the shafts L, R, U, and V, and as shownand described. the tripping-levers N, P, T, and X, substan- 4. In analarm and stop-gate device for tially as shown and described.railway-crossings, the turning shafts B and JOHN KUSTER, JR. 5 C, incombination with the shaft E and the XVitnesses:

several crank-levers fixed to the ends of said G. M. PLYMPION,shafts,respectively, connecting rods or chains JNo. N. BRUNs.

